


Rest For The Wicked

by rebel_hufflepuff



Series: the heart is hard to translate [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-27
Updated: 2014-12-07
Packaged: 2018-02-14 23:47:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 18,363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2207592
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rebel_hufflepuff/pseuds/rebel_hufflepuff
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Wayward Souls.</p><p>Space Aliens.</p><p>Super Heroes.</p><p>Welcome to the worst three days of Nora’s life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a Soulmate AU, where the first words your soulmate(s) speak to you are tattooed on your body.
> 
> This is my first fic - ever. I have no idea what I'm doing.
> 
> If anything should be tagged that is not, give me a head's up. I'm happy to tag anythings folks feel need to be tagged.
> 
> Not beta read, all mistakes are mine.
> 
> I unfortunately do not own the Avengers.
> 
> **EDIT**
> 
> So, I wrote this story a year ago and when presented with the idea of posting it, got swept up in the glamour and forgot about things like timelines and context. Thus, I have made a slight adjustment to this first chapter, to solidify the timeline as I have it in my mind. 
> 
> Carry on.

“Excuse me.” I startled, predictably, and jerked out my ear buds. The man who had spoken was remarkably unremarkable: everything about him was straightforwardly average - navy suit, navy tie, standard Republican hair cut. He could easily be lost in any office, financial district or evening commute.

He wasn’t the type for the Greyhound, though.

“Hi.” I smiled, unsure of the trajectory of this conversation.

“Miss McDonagh, my name is Agent Phil Coulson.” He offered a badge, equipped with an insignia I’d never seen before and tiny lettering I can’t read in the glow of the truck stop. “I’m going to have to ask you to come with me.”

“Am I being arrested?” Every possible thing that I could have done to get myself arrested flit through my mind. That is to say, nothing. I haven’t done anything that I know of that could warrant law enforcement approaching me on the bus to Philadelphia.

“Not at all. I believe you’ll be able to assist in a matter of global security. If you would step off the bus, I can explain everything to you.”

“Um…” I looked out of the window and saw two other guys, this time with those earpieces that the CIA use and an SUV that read ‘SHIELD’. “Can I see your badge again?”

“Of course.” Agent Coulson handed me his badge and I studied it. It seemed legit, with watermarks and holograms, but how was I supposed to know if it was real?

“Miss McDonagh, I understand your hesitance. I apologize for the situation that prompted us to approach you this way. However, this is an incredibly sensitive issue that requires haste. If you allow me to explain, I will guarantee that, should you decide not to help us, your travel to Philadelphia or any destination of your choosing, will be taken care of.”

Oh god, oh god, oh god. “Alright.” I jammed my ipod in my knapsack and stood. Agent Coulson smiled a bland smile and ushered me off the bus and into the SUV. After the door was closed and we were sailing away from my comfort zone, Coulson took a tablet out of a briefcase and starting pulling up pages.

“Approximately fifteen hours ago, a cosmic convergence occurred at a SHIELD test facility. We were performing tests on an object thought to be from another world.” He showed me a glowing blue cube, connected to wires and machines in a lab. “We believed that this object could provide unlimited sustainable energy and were trying to utilize it. However, during our work, something else happened.” He swiped to another picture, a grainy surveillance shot of a man with dark hair, wearing some kind of body armour and a - cape?

“This is the hostile known as Loki. At 6:07 this morning this morning, he triggered an event which activated the use of the cube as a portal and came through.”

“I’m sorry, came through?” I took my eyes off the tablet and looked at Coulson. “Can you elaborate?”

“Loki professed he was from Asgard, a world that we became aware of recently.”

“I know this is cliche, but I have to ask - am I being punked?”

“I assure you, Miss McDonagh, this is all true, if a little fantastical.”

“Okay. So, this Loki is an alien? From Asgard?”

“Our findings are quite conclusive.”

“Okay. Um, please continue.”

“Following Loki’s arrival, he engaged in offensive hostile behaviour, killing 3 agents, injuring the director of SHIELD, and abducting two of our personnel: an agent and our head astrophysicist, Erik Selvig.” A picture of a genial looking middle aged man came up. “He then took the cube and fled the facility. Which, consequent of the portal being opened, compromised the structural integrity of the facility. This is an aerial view of the campus yesterday -” A picture of a sprawling industrial campus came up. “- and this is the site today.”

The next picture was of a crater.

“Loki is now in the wind with a highly valuable and destructive force, as well as a man who knows how to use it. We expect a display of aggression on a large scale very soon.”

We passed the next few minutes in silence, my focus trapped by the ruin of the campus on screen.

“What do you need me for? I don’t have any experience or skills that would be beneficial to you. Unless you want me to knit you a cube cozy.” My horrible attempt at humour fell flat between us.

“That brings me to the more complex part.”

“More complex than homicidal space aliens?”

“When we learned of Loki, we launched an international, inter-agency search for information. Not much turned up, until we found this.”

The next picture was startlingly familiar and I knew it better than the back of my hand. Because it was the front of my hand.

“This is the image was accessed from your Instagram account. Apologies for the intrusion.”

I clenched the fingers of my left hand, suddenly incredibly uneasy about where this was going.

“We discovered that these markings are Norse Viking Runes, dated circa 600 AD, which may be the last time Loki was on Earth.” 

I felt strangely removed from this revelation. It was distantly shocking and terrifying, but I wasn’t incredibly put out - yet. Of course this would happen to me, discovering my soul was a homicidal alien invader when I was alone in a foreign country. Of course.

Coulson was still talking and I forced myself to listen. “- haven’t been in contact, but we were hoping you would be willing to assist us in bringing him into custody.”

“Of course. Anything I could do.” My voice sounded like it was coming from far away.

“Would you mind pulling over? I think I’m going to throw up.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2! So exciting!
> 
> Thank you for the comments and the kudos - I feel warm and fuzzy inside. This fic is mostly finished - just polishes left - so I should be able to update quite frequently. 
> 
> Special thanks to endlesstuesday, my beloved beta babe.
> 
> Minor warning in end notes.

After my thoroughly embarrassing dry heaving at the side of the highway, we went to a private airfield, where a helicopter was waiting for us. Once secured, with a heavy headset crushing my hair, Coulson handed me a tablet.

“That’s all the intel we have on Loki. Let me know if you need any clarification.”

I nodded, and started reading everything there was to know about my erstwhile soul. Apparently there was an incident in New Mexico, when the first Asgardian, Thor, touched down. It had happened a year ago, which coincided eerily with my first nightmare and subsequent panic attack. 

That would explain the sudden spike in inexplicable anxiety that had been gradually growing over the past year; there were some intensely unreliably reports of souls being connected by a ‘psychic link’. I’d always thought it was bullshit, but it would make sense that I would have anxiety with my soul being a crazy alien.

At least now I could go off my medication.

By the time we arrived in New York, I was understandably freaked out. The helicopter landed on the roof of a tall building, surrounded by other tall buildings, and only reason I knew we were in New York was because the ostentatious billboards of Times Square just visible through a gap in the sparkly buildings.

Coulson took back the tablet before assisting me out of the helicopter and leading me down into the building. The other agents we had been traveling with dispersed, so by the time we stepped into an elevator, it was only Coulson and I.

“This is just a pit stop, Miss McDonagh. I have to consult with someone here in the city before we head to the rendezvous point. It might take an hour or two.”

I made some kind of grunt of acknowledgement and looked down at my shoes. I could feel my hands beginning to shake, so I shoved them in my pockets and wobbled on my heels.

“I’ll make sure you’re comfortable while I have my meeting. Would you like something to eat? I know a great sushi place.” Coulson looked over his shoulder, so I just shook my head. I couldn’t trust the fact that my voice wouldn’t wobble if I tried to speak.

Coulson softened noticeably and I wanted to roll my eyes. The very last thing I needed was for an agent of a super-secret-super-weird intelligence agency feeling sorry for me.

“I know that this has been a lot to take in, but it’s going to be alright, Miss McDonagh. You have nothing to be afraid of.”

The elevator came to a halt, and that probably could have saved me from saying anything, but the absurdity of the whole situation occurred to me and I couldn’t hold back.

“I beg to differ, Agent Coulson. From the information you’ve given me, my soul is a dangerous man with plans of world domination, who has already killed and most likely will again. If that’s true, it would be folly to be unafraid.”

We stood frozen for a moment, suspended in a strange appraisal of each other. I could see the cogs moving behind Agent Coulson’s eyes, perhaps categorizing my ‘skills’, if I had any marketable skills at all. It was only when the doors started to slid shut on us that we broke from our staring contest.

“Quite right, Miss McDonagh. My apologies.” He motioned me to precede him out of the elevator and I did, stepping into a nondescript hallway.

“No worries, Agent Coulson. And, you know, I’m not very hungry. I can just sit somewhere quiet while you do your thing.” I said as we walked down said hallway and into a lobby, set up with couches and concierge desk.

“Are you sure? This is seriously excellent sushi.”

“I’m sure. Thank you, though. I can just wait here, I have stuff.” I patted my bag demonstratively.

“All right. Well, I’ll tell Monica,” He waved to the woman at the desk, who smiled blandly and waved back, “that you’re here and she’ll look after you. She knows how to contact me if you need anything.”

“Sure. Have a good time, I think.”

Agent Coulson rolled his eyes. “I’ll do my best, but don’t get your hopes up.”

He left and I went to one of the plusher couches, settling in for a long, hopefully panic attack free, wait. I opened my bag, but my hands hovered ineffectually over the contents, my mind too cluttered to know what to collect. In the end, I left the flap open, but untouched, leaning back against the couch and closing my eyes.

What was happening? It was all too sudden, too strange; this morning I had been heading to Philadelphia, was eating overcooked eggs and crafting playlists for the road. Kat will be waiting, maybe she was already here in New York. I should have called her, but what would I say? 

Hey Kat, got hijacked by secret agents to subvert the end of the world as we know it. Might be late for lunch on Tuesday. Oh, and guess what? Found my soul - yeah, he’s dreamy: tall, dark and criminally insane. You’ll love him.

No, it would be better to wait until I had a handle on things.

When I opened my eyes, it was to see a spectacularly beautiful man sitting across from me. I hadn’t heard him sit, too wrapped up in my mini-panic. And now, well, if I had been more in control of my cognitive functions, I would have tried flirting, because HOLY SHIT, this guy was doing it for me in a way that should be illegal. Golden blond, broad shoulders testing the max cap of a brown leather jacket, legs that went for miles…

As it was, of course, I only managed to snap my mouth shut before he looked over.

He smiled, politely, and nodded.

“Ma’am.”

Ma’am? I looked at my outfit, non-grandma, and patted down my hair, which was attempting to escape the braid I had wound it into. Did I look like a ‘ma’am’?

In the wake of his greeting, the man looked away, giving me the opportunity to study him at my leisure.

He was, as previously stated, excessively attractive, but his wardrobe left something to be desired. He was wearing a green gingham shirt under a brown leather jacket and pants that had pleats. He looked like the personification of the American Dream - from the ‘80’s.

I turned away, abandoning my perusal of my companion, and dug my phone out of my bag. First order of business - delete SoulWords from Instagram.

You know, it had never occurred to me that posting a stupid picture of my stupid pastel nail polish would land me in a situation like this.

Figures.

“Excuse me, ma’am?”

I looked up, starting to work my way towards incredulous - seriously ‘ma’am’? - to find the man leaning forward slightly, hesitation evident on his face.

“Yes?”

“Sorry to interrupt, I was just - are you Agent Coulson?”

“Um, no.” My eyebrows dragged together. Americana looked chagrined and leaned back.

“Sorry. I’m waiting for Agent Coulson and I assumed he was a ‘he’, but then I thought that maybe I was wrong. Sorry, again, for bothering you.”

“It’s okay. I’m waiting for him too. He might be a little while though.”

“Ah. Alright. Thank you, ma’am.” He flashed a generic thousand watt smile. Very pretty, but maybe too… polite.

I turned back to my phone and successfully completed my mission. I then went on to my Facebook page and deleted anything in relation to my Words. I know nothing ever really ‘leaves’ the internet, but I felt a little more secure knowing it wasn’t out there for the world to see any longer.

That done, I leaned back against the couch, studying the ceiling tiles. It was not a very useful distraction, but it at least kept my eyes from wandering to the man every time he shuffled in his chair.

Which was often.

Having exhausted my examination of the ceiling, I shut my eyes and daydreamed about having a nice, normal Soul. Someone like Americana - pleasant, buttoned up, hair parted perfectly. He probably had an equally pleasant Soul, with a wonderfully normal house and maybe even a dog. His Soul wouldn’t try to take over the known world.

Wouldn’t that be lovely?

***

“Miss Mc Donagh?”

I blinked awake, hand coming up to wipe an unfortunate string of drool from the corner of my lips.

Agent Coulson was standing over me, an indulgent smile on his face.

“I apologize for taking so long - I had to make a detour.”

Thankfully, he did not mention the drool. My dignity was somewhat intact.

I pushed myself up, rolling the sleep out of my body. The blond man was standing in front of his couch, eyes tastefully averted.

“Have you two been introduced?” Agent Coulson asks, a look of… could that be glee?

“No, we haven’t.” I stood, willing the last of my dreams away and pulling a genial smile onto my face.

“Well, allow me the pleasure of introducing Captain Steve Rogers. Captain, this is Nora McDonagh. She’ll be - assisting with the hostile.”

Steve Rogers… There was something about that name that rung a bell. Maybe it was just because this fellow looked like Captain America.

Captain Rogers walked over and held out his hand.

“Ma’am.”

I refused to let my smile become a smirk.

“Captain.”

“Well, now that we’re all acquainted - shall we?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nora alludes to mental health issues and subsequent medication.


	3. Chapter 3

Of course I would drool all over myself in front of Captain America.

I willed my cheeks to cool, but they flushed right back to a brilliant red every time I thought of my humiliation in front of a national treasure. I may as well have barfed in front of the Queen.

We - Coulson, Captain America and I - had been en route to rendezvous point for the better part of four hours. We were tucked into a small jet that reminded me of something out of X-Men.

Coulson was working at a computer terminal near the cockpit, leaving the good Captain and I in the back. We had barely spoken, partially due to my crushing embarrassment. Rogers was studying a tablet, engrossed in whatever he was reading.

The sun was starting to crest over the Atlantic Ocean, reminding me that I hadn’t had more than a few hours sleep in almost 24 hours. And my stomach was starting to protest. I had a granola bar in my bag, but I couldn’t decide what the protocol was for munching away in the company of a superhero and a super secret agent.

In the end, I decided to forgo possible humiliation by granola bar. With my luck, I would start choking on the thing and Captain America would have to give me the Heimlich. However, that meant I had to occupy myself in some other way, hopefully distracting myself from my stomach collapsing in on itself.

And that is how I ended up eavesdropping on classified information. 

When the pilots announced that we were forty minutes from our destination, Coulson hopped off his stool and came to stand over Captain Rogers.

I swear, I wasn’t trying to listen, but when folks start talking about The Hulk right in front of you, it’s hard to tune out.

“So, Banner was trying to replicate the serum used on me?” The captain looked up from the tablet, regret pulling his eyebrows down.

“You were the first real superhero. A lot of people were trying to recreate Erskine’s original formula.” Coulson leaned forward, both men caught in the destruction created by Bruce Banner’s alter ego. I had seen some of the footage when it was airing live last year. And Kat had described the way the streets had been in ruin for months after as the city scrambled to put itself back together.

“Didn’t really go his way, did it?”

“It really didn’t. He’s not that thing though, the guy’s a genius. A real Stephen Hawking.”

Captain Rogers looked up, a single eyebrow lifted in confusion. Coulson cleared his throat, jumping to clear up the missed reference.

“He’s a smart… person.”

Rogers nodded, setting the tablet down beside him.

“Can I just say, it is a real honour to meet you, Captain.”

Rogers smile, a cute little ‘aw shucks’ smile at the admission.

“ Well, officially meet you. I watched you while you were sleeping.”

The silence following that statement hung in the jet for a moment and you could almost see Coulson kick himself. Rogers’s looked down at his lap, allowing Coulson a moment to catch himself.

“I mean, present while you were unconscious.”

Cause that sounded much better.

Rogers stood, slipping around Coulson and walking past me to look out the front windshield. Coulson followed, obviously oblivious to the distancing body language. I went back to studying my shoes so my listening in wasn’t absurdly apparent.

“Anyway, it’s a huge honour.”

Rogers voice sounded tight when he spoke again.

“I just hope I’m the man for the job.”

“Oh, absolutely. I think you’ll like the modifications to the uniform.” Coulson’s voice sang with pride. “I had a little design input.”

“Uniform? Aren’t the stars and stripes a little... old-fashioned?”

I glanced up to see an earnest look on Coulson’s face.

“With all that’s happened, all the things that are going to come to light, I figure people could do with a little old-fashioned.”

***  
Conversation died down after that. Which was for the best, because I don’t know how many times could pull his foot out of his mouth without getting tired. I was starting to get the impression that Phil Coulson was a Captain America fanboy.

Before too long, we were slowing down to land on an aircraft carrier. When the ramp lowered, I swung my knapsack on and followed Coulson onto the tarmac.

A redhaired woman approached us as soon as we stepped off the plane.

“Agent Romanoff, Captain Rogers. And this is Miss McDonagh.”

The woman nodded briefly and turned back to Coulson.

“They need you on the bridge. They’re starting the face trace.”

“Alright. See you there.”

“Sorry, Agent Coulson? Is there cell service out here? Or a phone I could use? I think I should let my sister know that I’m not in Philadelphia.”

Coulson paused a few feet away, contemplating for a moment.

“There’s no need, Miss McDonagh. I had my assistant email your sister Kat from New York. She’s under the impression you met some people who are taking you camping.”

It took a moment for this to sink in. And then, the only thing that came to mind to say was -

“Camping?”

“Don’t worry, Miss McDonagh. We’ve ensured you have a cover for the next few days. Your family doesn’t need to know about any of this. You’ll be on your way home before you know it.”

Coulson smiled tightly, obviously considering the issue taken care of. “Agent Romanoff will get you settled and brief you. I’ll see you soon.”

I was left to watch him disappear into the depths of the boat, trying to make sense of my sudden uneasiness.

It made sense for them to give me some kind of cover. I can’t imagine this stuff being common knowledge, and Kat was liable to go overboard if I went missing. SHIELD was a covert government agency - this was part of the job.

But I could have texted Kat, made up some lie to keep her occupied. If they had asked, I could have done it.

I pushed the feeling to the side. There was just too much going on to start freaking out about such plebian things as governmental invasion of privacy.

Looking back to my new keeper, I saw that Captain Rogers had made friends with a studious looking man in a tweed suit while Agent Romanoff looked on benevolently. I watched as Romanoff tilted her head to the side and then nodded, calling out to the two men.

“Gentlemen, you might want to step inside. It’s about to get a little hard to breath.”

On perfect cue, a great whirring sound started up, followed by an alarm, and folks starting running around us. Instead of taking Agent Romanoff’s advice, both men took a few steps closer to the edge.

“Is this a submarine?” Captain Rogers asked, leaning to look over the edge.

“Oh, that’s great. They want me locked in a submerged, pressurized metal container?” The other man laughed darkly.

The whirring grew louder and then the ground shook. And then we were - lifting off?

We rose steadily away from the ocean and I suppressed the urge to grab hold of Agent Romanoff. I was on a giant, flying aircraft carrier. Awesome.

Tweed Suit laughed.

“Oh no, this is much worse.”

***  
Agent Romanoff indulged the men a little longer, but then it did get harder to breath, so we headed inside.

She lead us through a maze of corridors and up elevators and down stairs. I would never be able to find my way back to the deck and I tried not to let that bother me.

The bleak corridors ended at last, opening up onto a cavernous room, filled to the brim with people in blue jumpsuits. There were at least a hundred computer terminals, in two recessed areas on either side of a cat walk, lined up row after row, facing a wall of windows.

Agent Romanoff paused near the door, so I hung back with her while the men wandered further into the room.

A woman near the centre console was sprouting off jargon that I’m sure made sense to someone, but I had no idea, so I tuned it out.

A man in a black leather trench coat stood in the centre of the whole circus, facing the clouds as they got closer to us.

“We’re at level, sir.” The woman said, turning to the man in the trench coat.

“Good. Let’s vanish.”

Again, this probably meant something (other than it sounded cool), but nothing really happened. Somewhat unimpressed, my gaze drifted around the room and settled on the man who had accompanied us from the deck.

It didn’t seem like he was part of the proceedings, actually, he looked a little skittish. Another unfortunate bystander?

“Gentlemen.”

I looked back to see the man in the trench coat looking directly at me - with his one eye. The other eye was covered by an eyepatch with dark scars rippling out across the left side of his face.

He inclined his head, unfazed by my perusal.

“Miss McDonagh.”

I managed a small nod back, a chill running down my spine. It’s not this guy’s fault that he looked incredibly menacing.

But the leather trenchcoat wasn’t exactly warming me to him.

Rogers approached him, digging in his pocket for a second before pulling out a roll of - money? He peeled off a bill and handed it to the other fellow, who accepted it without a word and slipped it into his pocket.

Weird.

“Doctor, thanks for coming.” Trench coat approached Tweed Suit, hand outstretched.

He took it hesitantly, smiling gingerly.

“Thanks for asking nicely. How long am I staying?” Tweed Suit - Doctor? - stepped back, folding his arms over his chest.

“As soon as we have the Tesseract, you’re in the wind.” Trench Coat sounded incredibly mellow, at odds with the whole ‘aliens on the offensive’ thing happening.

“And how’s that going?”

Trench Coat gestured to Coulson, who was surveying a bay of computers.

“We’re sweeping every wirelessly accessible camera on the planet. If it’s connected to a satellite, its eyes and ears for us. We also have a specialist running down leads on Loki’s whereabouts.”

“How many spectrometers do you have access to?”

“How many are there?”

'How many are there?' Who are these people?

“Call every lab you know, get them to put the spectrometers on the roof, formatted to detect gamma rays. I’ll work up an algorithm, basic cluster recognition, see if we can’t rule out a couple places. Do you have somewhere for me to work?”

“Of course. Romanoff?”

Agent Romanoff left my side, leaving me feeling pathetically bereft.

“You’re gonna love it, doc, we’ve got all the toys.” She ushered the doctor down out, quickly disappearing from view.

As soon as Tweed Suit and Agent Romanoff were gone, Trench Coat turned to me and I could feel my blood pressure spike.

“Miss McDonagh, my name is Nick Fury. I’m the Director of SHIELD.” He held out his hand as soon as he was within reach and I prided myself on the fact that I didn’t hesitate to take it.

“It’s nice to meet you.” I looked over his shoulder and saw Coulson and Rogers talking, their backs to Fury and I. I was on my own for this.

“Thank you for joining us, Miss McDonagh. I’m sure you’re a little apprehensive over your role here, but you don’t have anything to worry about. You will never be in any undue danger while you’re assisting us.”

“Sure. So, what exactly can I help you with? I told Agent Coulson, I don’t have any training or skills that could help with Loki’s capture or detention. I’m really am just an underemployed kid from Toronto.” I jammed my hands in my pockets and shrugged helplessly.

Director Fury didn’t seem overly concerned with my admission.

“Well, Miss McDonagh, half the reason we picked you up was to keep you out of Loki’s reach. We’re largely in the dark here, and until we know he’s not looking for you, it’s better safe than sorry.”

“Oh. Good. Thanks.”

Fury gestured to the conference table and I followed him. In the process of slipping off my back pack, it occurred to me that if someone was looking for me, it wouldn’t take them long to find my house. And Abby.

My body seized with panic and it must have shown on my face.

“We have people watching your house. If anyone unsavory tries to make contact, we’ll take care of it.” Fury said and it helped to sooth my racing heart.

“Thank you.” I sat down and he took the chair next me, pushing away from the table and resting his elbows on his knees.

“You said ‘half the reason’. What’s the other half?”

“To be frank, I’m hoping that once Loki is aware you are with us, he’ll be more open to negotiation.”

I appreciated the way he avoided unsavory terms like ‘hostage’ and ‘forcing compliance’. It was quaint.

“So, I’m here for leverage.”

“Any advantages we can get, we’ll take, Miss McDonagh.”

“Well, if I can help avert alien invasion, than I’m all in.”

“Glad to hear it. Now, once we’ve located Loki, you’ll -”

“He bought a ticket.”

I’m sure what was to follow would have been a riveting plan of action, but Director Fury was interrupted by the arrival of a young woman with wild, curly hair and a tablet dangling from her hand.

“The only damn reason I took this job was because I thought it was gonna be fun - space invaders, covert ops, flying boat. I was hoping for a challenge.”

She skipped down to one of the computer terminals, hip-checking the agent who had been working there, and connecting her tablet to the terminal.

“Your point, Stern?” Fury stood and joined Rogers and Coulson at the railing.

“He’s at an art opening in Stuttgart, Germany. He bought a ticket.”

I stood on shaky legs, slowly approaching the crowd now gathered around the screen.

And there he was - just a grainy image on the screen, weaving through a crowd of extravagantly dressed people on a dark street. Stern smacked the space bar and the screen froze on an image of Loki looking directly into the camera, a playful smirk playing across his face.

“He’s either an idiot or he wants to be found.” Stern crossed her arms and leveled Fury with a glare. “Either way, I’m totally overcharging you for this one.”

Fury scoffed, already turning away from her. “Send me a bill.”

He looked at me briefly, a soft look on his face, but it was wipe away quickly.

“Cap? You’re on.”

Rogers nodded and excused himself. Then Fury turned, his terrible visage focused solely on me.

“You ready for this?” He asked point blank.

A sad little sound, one that could generously called a laugh, escaped my throat.

“Not even a little. Let’s do it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Loki in the next chapter! So exciting.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, Loki! Yay!
> 
> You know, it really didn't seem this angsty when I wrote it. Whoops.
> 
> Also, check out the end notes for a cop out.
> 
> Love to my lovely beta - endlesstuesday

Things moved quickly after my little announcement. Director Fury introduced me to an Agent Mills, who led me back up through the maze to the deck. Agent Romanoff was already waiting for us, having changed out of her jeans and jacket into a black catsuit, not unlike the ones they had been wearing on the bridge. This one, however, lent the image of a sexy ninja who could kill you with her pinkie.

Captain America joined us after I was strapped in to a seat in the cockpit, wearing a tight blue outfit, bedecked in stars and stripes. It was very 1940’s, only tighter.

Things were tense on the way to Germany. No one spoke and, with Agent Mills at the helm, we were approaching the city before anyone had severe second thoughts. Anyone being me, mostly.

We dropped the good captain off a few blocks from the museum and lifted off again to get a good vantage point. The explosions started just as we cleared a tall building and we had a bird’s eye view of Loki, wearing a golden helmet and standing over a hundred kneeling people.

We watched as one man stood and as Loki pointed his spear at him. It began to glow, blue energy swirling around the tip. A bolt flew out and would have hit the old man, but then Good Ol’ Captain America swung in, deflecting the blow back. 

“Okay, Nora, just like we practiced.” Agent Romanoff said, flipping the switches to turn on the loud speakers. I swallowed around the massive lump in my throat and took a second to mourn that these would be the first words I said to him, my Soul. That he would have worn them since my birth, known me as an enemy before we ever met.

“Loki, lower your weapons and stand down.”

Boy, did that get his attention. Loki spun to face to jet, his gaze caught me. I knew there was absolutely no way that he could see me, but the feeling persisted and I was trapped, a butterfly under the glass.

On the bright side, my diversion worked, distracting him long enough to let a few civilians escape. The inactivity didn’t last long, and Loki decided to shoot his magic spear at us. The jet spun out of the way of a blue projectile and I fought to not vomit all over the cockpit.

There goes Fury’s idea of a “Protective Soul” response.

Steve brought Loki’s attention back to him and Romanoff prepared to lock weapons. While she tried to focus on Loki, I watched the fight. Loki moved sinuously, using the spear as an extension of his arms. It was hypnotic to watch and if I was being honest with myself, I was becoming a little flushed.

“This guy’s all over the place.” Romanoff hissed. AC/DC came out of the speakers as though in response.

“Miss me, Agent Romanoff?”

Romanoff scoffed as a red and gold streak blew past the jet and joined the fight. With Iron Man involved, it was over in seconds. Loki’s armor dissolved as he leaned against some steps, a sad, kicked-puppy look on his face.

Agent Mills landed the jet and Romanoff opened the ramp.

“You good, Nora?”

“Yeah, sure.” I fumbled with the buckles on my seat and stood. I was a little dizzy from the tumbling and told myself that that was the reason for the weight in my gut. Totally not because I was about to meet my Soul, who just so happened to be an alien intent on taking over Earth.

Nope.

It took a couple minutes for them to work out the exceedingly complicated schematics of getting Loki on the quinjet, but eventually they were walking up the ramp. I had taken the time to control my breath, slow my heart, compose my face into a neutral expression. I didn’t have any luck with halting the tremor in my hands, so I clenched them at my sides and pretended.

Tony Stark came up first, exaggerated swagger and eyebrows leading the way. I ignored him, because directly behind him was Loki, wearing a cowed expression I knew was feigned.

He looked up, cruel blue eyes rising to meet me. I kept his gaze, wishing I could raise an eyebrow and give him a cool look, pretend I didn’t care. But I think he knew anyway.

I stood a moment longer, barely aware of the others, and then turned away, busying myself with strapping into a seat.

“Well, that was interesting.”

“Nobody asked you, Stark.”

The ride to the Heli-Carrier was tense, to say the least. Neither Loki nor I spoke, but we would occasionally stare at each other for minutes at a time. Stark found this highly amusing. But Steve kept quiet, and that was a blessing.

Everything was going awesome until Agent Mills decided to fly into a damn thunder storm. As the quinjet rattled, I clutched the straps of my restraint, attempting (fruitlessly) the talk myself down from a full on freak out. Loki didn’t look so hot either and Captain Rogers noticed.

“What, scared of a little lightening?”

“I’m not overly fond of what follows.” The sound of his voice was almost - ALMOST- soothing. And I hated myself for it.

Fucking Silver Tongue.

Of course, that was when something heavy landed on the roof. And I may have started hyperventilating.

I didn’t listen to them arguing, trying not to have a panic attack.

His voice was soft, but it cut across the jet and pulled me in.

“Just breathe. It’s going to be all right.”

Fire raced up my left arm, starting at my left wrist and spreading up to my elbow. I bit back a gasp and dug my nails into my palm.

I had heard rumours that getting your Mark was irritating, but no one told me it would be excruciating.

Nevertheless, I used the pain to centre myself and felt the terror edge back.

That, of course, was when the ramp lowered. While we were in the air. In the middle of a thunderstorm. With an unknown on top of the jet.

I jerked my head around to see Stark with his hand over the button.

“Are you out of your fucking mind?” I yelled over the rushing wind flooding the jet. This question was quickly disregarded as a red and silver blur flew up the ramp, grabbed Loki, slammed a hammer into Stark, and flew right back out.

Everything got a little fuzzy after that, understandably, I think. Stark and Rogers followed shortly afterward and Agent Mills tried to track their location. I, naturally, just worked on not passing out.

When everything had become less fuzzy, we had landed in a small clearing of trees. Romanoff lowered the ramp and settled to wait, but the rolling in my stomach refused to settle and I fought out of my restraint. I quickly lost my lunch under a German shrub.

After a couple of spectacular convulsions, I sat back on my heels, promptly lost my balance and fell on my ass. On the upside, I didn’t land in my vomit.

The stars danced dizzily above my head, so I closed my eyes to blot them out.

“Here.” I opened my eyes and was confronted by a water bottle hovering above me. I tilted a little and found Agent Romanoff standing over me, wearing what I had come to think of as her go-to expression - an indescribable ‘You are beneath me, but I will pretend otherwise’ kind of look.

“Thanks.” I accepted the water and let her help me to my feet. “Sorry about that.”

“There’s no need to apologize, kid. I know how you feel.”

I couldn’t help the snort of disbelief before swishing the water around in my mouth.

“Believe or not, I know what it’s like to meet your Soul in less than ideal circumstances.”  
She sighed and crouched down so that we were somewhat level.

“This whole thing, it’s taught as a fairy tale. The truth is, it’s a flawed system and sometimes it doesn’t work. It’s nobody’s fault - that’s just the way it is.”

I looked over and wondered, for a moment, what had led her say the one thing no one ever said. It was a flawed system, maybe even broken. Nobody liked to talk about it, but some Souls did awful things to each other. Abuse, abandonment, even murder. Sometimes the person you were supposed to love only hurt you.

And it was okay to want something that didn’t hurt.

Not that they taught that in school.

“Thank you.”

“Of course.”

We waited in silence until the men returned. All - four of them?

“He’s a friendly?” Romanoff asked, directing her question at Steve.

“Yes, ma’am.”

She studied the newcomer for a moment. He seemed to take this as invitation to speak.

“Milady, I am Thor Odinson, of Asgard. I heartily offer my apologies for the disruption of your journey and hope that I did no damage to your vessel.”

“Hm. Everybody in.”

I threw a quick glance at Loki, who was watching me like a creeper. I turned away, careful to make my movements as unhurried as possible, desperate not to show how frazzled I was. I followed Romanoff onto the jet and heard the others behind me, which reminded me. I turned back, zeroing in on Stark, who was looking decidedly scuffed up. This pleased me to no end.

“I know you couldn’t care less about me, that I matter to you about as much as a hermit crab, but I want you to know that I hate you and if you ever do anything like that again, I will happily throw you into an active volcano.” I shoved him right in his shiny, blue heart and went back onto the jet.

As I was wrestling with the straps again, I heard an affronted and stunned Stark.

“Who is she again?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised, a genuine cop out - since I'm greedy, in this verse, folks get Words when both they and their soulmate(s) are alive. Then, when folks have their Words spoken to them, they get a secondary mark, representing their Soul/Bond. It's fun for me, so... I regret nothing.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, we have our first conversation between our star-crossed Souls.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Love to my beta, endlesstuesday. You're the coolest.

When we arrived at the heli-carrier, we were greeted by Coulson - and a fuck tonne of security. As Loki was taken and shackled we pointedly did not look at each other, but I still felt his presence - it cloaked me, just shy of smothering, could be comforting if I let it.

Coulson said something, but I was no longer tracking and just nodded along, hoping it was believable enough. An agent appeared at my elbow and led me to an unoccupied bunk. He introduced himself as Anderson and assured me that he would be right outside my door. I pulled a smile onto my face and thanked him, in what I hoped was a genuine manner.

It was only after the door closed that I fully allowed myself to succomb.

I shrugged out of my jacket and let it fall to the floor. My fingers were thick and clumsy as I rolled up my sleeve, slowly revealing another piece of my Soul.

It grew out of my wrist, rooted at the end of the runes. An inch thick, a tree trunk sprouted from from veins, reaching midway to my elbow, where it sprouted leaves and branches. It was beautiful, strong and full, and it made me want to rip into my skin. This was a mark to be proud of, the breadth of the trunk and wealth of leaves spoke of promise, and I hated it.

I rolled my sleeve back over it and gingerly crawled into the bunk. I quietly mourned my hopeless soul and cried myself to sleep.

***

“Nora?”

A knock jarred me out of my uneasy nap. Romanoff was calling my name.

“Yeah?” My voice was groggy and wet.

“We could use you again, if you're up to it.”

Awesome. Time for some more emotionally ravaging.

“Sure, uh, give me ten minutes?” My skin felt crusty and clammy and now my clothes were wrinkled from my depression-induced nap.

“Sure thing, kid.”

My bag had been brought into the room, so I grabbed it and closed myself in the tiny bathroom. I peeled off my clothes, studiously ignoring my left arm. 

The shower was brisk, a quick rinse so that I could feel human again. I redressed in a grey sweater and jeans, slipping into my flats and forgoing any kind of make up. No point in making a good impression, right?

Romanoff was waiting outside, showing no sign of haste. She pointed down the hall and started talking.

“We just want you to get him talking. I doubt he’s going to tell you anything, but we’re hoping that you being in there will throw him off, make him sloppy. What I want you to do is focus on a few key words - ‘Tesseract’; ‘Chitauri’; ‘Selvig’; and ‘Barton’. If he says any of those things, stay on it - push him and see what happens. We’ve got the whole place rigged with video and sound and I’ll be just outside the whole time. If you feel uncomfortable or threatened at any time, say the word and you’re out. There is no way he is gonna hurt you.”

“Sure.” I didn’t bother to say that this whole thing was hurting me.

We reached a big steel door that was guarded by two burly guys with guns.

“Anything you need to know?” Romanoff asked.

“How do I - how do I bare it?” My voice sounded impossibly small and I wanted to call it back.

Romanoff turned to me and levelled a probing look. “You have family, right? Sisters?”

I nodded, not trusting my voice to sound like a grown up.

“Think of them - if Loki’s plan succeeds and he takes over, they are in danger. And if not them, then somebody else’s sister or mother or daughter will lose their life. Right now, you have the chance to save them. Think of that.”

“Thank you, Agent Romanoff.” I brushed imaginary fluff off my shoulder and faced the door.

“Call me Natasha, kid.”

“Thanks, Natasha.”

And the door opened.

To say the proceeding room was menacing was an understatement. The room was cavernous, all metal scaffolding and grated walkways centred around a huge glass… cage.

And Loki stood in the centre, staring at me in a way that made me feel hunted.

Someone had been kind enough to place a chair on way of the walkways, facing Loki’s cage. I sank into it, grateful that my quaking knees would not be so obvious.

“I was wondering how they would use you against me.” Loki began, his voice just as hypnotic as I before. “Would it be as a balm, after Fury had enacted every torture he could think of, you would offer solace and I would spill my secrets? Or would they visit the tortures upon you? Your screams would melt my frozen heart and I would crack, telling all to save you? 

“No, instead they send in an unarmed girl to extract their answers. They must think much of your talents to believe I will tell you my plan on the merit of your wit alone.” He laughed and it chilled me.

“Well, since we’re being blunt, where is it, Loki?” Saying his name was like choking on glass, but the rest sounded somewhat steady, so that’s something. “Where is the Tesseract?”

“No, no, don’t start like that.” He admonished, wagging a finger at me. “You must start soft, put me at ease. Offer me something, make it worth it.”

I gritted my teeth and pasted on a smile. His tone was frustratingly patronizing, but one must forge on.

“I guess we weren’t properly introduced before,” I stood from the chair and strolled closer to the glass. “My name is Nora McDonagh. But don’t bother telling me who you are -” I slapped my head against the glass, left palm on spectacular display.

“Your reputation precedes you.”

For once Loki is silent, caught by the Words. I try to take advantage of his distraction. “Where is the Tesseract?”

Loki startled, almost imperceptibly, but I was watching. I could see the exact moment when his mask slipped, before refastening into a sour grin.

“I’ve sent it off, I know not where.”

“Bullshit. You need that to open your door, I’m surprised you let it out of your sight.”

“Speaking of surprise, imagine mine when I saw you in Germany. Fury must be quite desperate to use such underhanded tactics to get my attention. Using you as bait, tsk tsk.”

Loki stepped back, clasping his arms behind his back and settling into a confident pose. I took the opportunity to create space between us, going behind the chair and grasping the back until my knuckles turned white.

“Speaking of desperate, what about stealing Erik Selvig to get back at your brother. Isn’t it beneath you to be so… petty?”

Loki smiled indulgently as he shook his head.

“I do not expect you to understand the intricacies of insurgence. Suffice to say, Selvig was a tactical maneuver - although I would be lying if I said it was not a satisfying turn of events.”

“You’re right - I don’t understand. I don’t understand any of this. And you would not believe how frustrating that is. So it would be really great if you could help me out here. Just give me something. Anything.”

“No, I don’t think so. You have made your choice quite clear.” He nodded at the glass separating us.

“Choice? You made the choice for me when you descended on my home with conquest in mind!” I wanted to slam the chair against the ground, but held myself in check. I let it go to remove the temptation and jammed my hands in my pockets. 

“And you, in all your righteousness, have tasked yourself with what? Defeating me?” A cold chuckle escaped him as he advanced on the glass. “Forgive me, child, but you are hardly equipped for such an undertaking. You should resign yourself to the inevitability of humanity’s fall.”

“First of all - fuck you, you egotistical, homicidal megalomaniac . I will not be ‘resigning myself’ to anything. If you do, by some cruel accident, succeed, I will not submit, least of all to you.

“Second of all, I want to get something really clear: I may be insignificant, a child and a fool. Whatever demeaning name you think to label me with, you just remember one thing - I am YOUR Soul. YOUR Mate. Do not patronize me with your allusions, because I am the one person in this or any universe made to match you in every way. Do not forget it.”

The smile slid off his face, eyes narrowing. 

“But, Nora, dear, if I am a - oh, you said it so brilliantly - a ‘homicidal megalomaniac’ - what does that make you?”

“I don’t know. Do you?”

I let the question hang between us, letting myself feel all the potential of what this bond could be. I let it shine through my face and watched the mirror of my Soul. It was heady, almost intoxicating and I could feel the possibilities start to drown me. How easy it would be to let destiny run its course, to surrender myself to someone else’s plan.

But not today.

“I’d like to leave now.”

The door open immediately and Natasha stepped in.

“Anderson will take you to your room.

“Thank you.”

“You did good.” Natasha whispered as I walked past.

“Doesn’t feel that way.”

“It seldom does.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things get a little gory in this chapter. And we begin to really pile on the angst.
> 
> Forewarned is forearmed.
> 
> Love to my beta babe, endlesstuesday!

Everything went to shit shortly almost as soon as I settled in for another nap. The ship tilted ominously, followed by a very loud explosion.

I stuck my head out the door, hoping for an easily explained answer. Anderson was not in the hall like he said he would be, which was regrettable. An alarm sounded, klaxon lights all along the corridor going ballistic.

My first thought was ‘Oh, god, we’re going down’.

My second thought was, of course, ‘Loki’.

I swear to god, I must have no self-preservation instincts, because by the time I realized what I was doing, I was already outside Loki’s cage.

Even as my mind was screaming ‘don’t do the thing!’ I stepped through the door. The siren was slightly less pronounce here, but it echoed faintly, making the room feel too big.

Loki had been sitting, but rose as I entered, a calculating look on his face.

“Why did you come?”

“I - uh -” A few different reasons flitted through my head - ‘I’m afraid of heights’, ‘I don’t want to die alone’, ‘Somebody had to watch you’. All valid and true, but none of them stuck. I could pretend I had remembered the way from from room, but I had followed the tenuous connection between Souls. 

“You know why.”

“Sentiment.” I think he meant it to sound disdainful, but it came out dishearteningly perplexed.

“Yeah, well, if we’re going down in a fiery crash, I may as well go all in, right?”

There was another distant crash and the ground tilted spectacularly. I lost my footing and fell into the guardrail. I gasped on contact, closing my hands around the rail and hoping I didn’t swing over.

“Nora!” I looked over to see Loki against the glass, his hand splayed open as mine had been not long ago.

“I’m fine.” I pushed back a little, keeping my grip while finding my feet.

“Nora, you must hide.”

“I’m sorry?”

“My men will be here in mere moments and if they see you, they will kill you. You must hide until I am free and then I will come for you."

“But -”

“Nora, please.” His eyes were wide imploring, his palm pressed flat against the barrier. I didn’t say anything, I don’t think I could have, but I turned and went back down the ramp, finding a hiding place wedged between a wall and the control panel.

“Good girl.”

We waited in silence, the faint sounds of chaos echoing in around us.

How in God’s name had I ever become unlucky enough to end up here? I was a Good Girl - did my homework, minded curfew, picked up the slack when my mom left, stayed with Abby when my dad died and Kat decided to gallivant around the globe.

And now, I was on a falling aircraft, hiding from mercenaries, waiting for my Soul to rescue me - but at what cost?

I jumped when the door slid open, footsteps shuffling gently in. I pressed back into my crevice, praying that they wouldn’t find me.

The footsteps got closer and closer and adrenaline started coursing through my body. What are the chances I could fight off a trained assassin/mercenary?

Don’t answer that.

I almost couldn’t wait anymore, ready to spring up and take my chances. My muscles were tensed, my prayers said, and then he came into view.

Anderson was taking slow steps back, sweeping the room with his gun arm held out. He glanced down at me, did another sweep of the room and then crouched in front of me.

“I’m in the detention centre with McDonagh. Will assess and move to safe location.” He said into his shoulder before shifting his gun to one hand and reaching out for me.

“Are you alright, Miss?”

I nodded, body still racked with adrenaline.

“Then let’s get you out of here.”

He put his hand loosely around my elbow and I leaned forward, ready to put this behind me.

And then a shot rang out and a bullet embedded itself in the wall a foot above my head.

“Damn it!” Anderson shoved me back, already swinging up, gun out and bullets flying.

I curled up, tucking my head into my knees and closed my eyes. The bullets were ricocheting everywhere, the sounds magnified by the enclosed space.

Anderson called for backup over his comm, cursing up a storm until he wasn’t anymore.

The bullet made a wet sound as it hit, was followed by a few more, and then there was a loud thump in front of me.

I looked up, involuntarily, and saw Anderson splayed out on the ground, blood welling up at the edge of his mouth. His face was turned towards me and his gun arm held out.

Anderson tried to say something, but it ended up a wet gurgle. With a last push of energy, he flicked his fingers, his gun skittered across the ground to rest at my feet.

And then he was just gone.

There’s no way to really explain the moment you watch someone die, the whole ‘light leaving their eyes’ is just a shade of truth. Their whole self is just gone, drained out of them with their life’s blood.

I felt a cry working it’s way up my throat, so I sealed both hands over my mouth and tried to swallow it back down. I wasn’t wholly successful, a damp, muffled whimper slipped out through the cracks of my fingers.

I pulled myself tighter in, and a scraping sound drew my attention back to the gun at my feet. I didn’t want to take it, didn’t want to put my hands on something so dangerous.

But.

I slowly lifted a foot, using my toes to drag it just a little bit closer, closing my fingers around the metal as soon as it was within reach.

I had the gun in my hands, shaking slightly from the tremors racing down my arms. I would have held it tight, but all I needed now was to squeeze the trigger and shoot myself in the foot.

The pool of blood around Anderson was growing, slowly, and I tried to tuck myself in, collapse my bones together. I could feel the tears streaming down my face and dripping onto my sweater, joining the blood spatter and dust.

“Nora.”

I jerked back, pressing myself further against the wall. Loki knelt in front of me, blocking my view of Anderson’s lifeless eyes.

“Nora, pet, it’s all right now. You can come out now.”

I stared at him for a moment, my Soul, and remembered the gun in my hands. It was basically pointed at him - I could close my eyes and pull the trigger.

Maybe it would be over then.

As if he could read my mind, Loki smiled softly. “Come now, Nora. We both know you won’t use that. 

“Give it to me.”

He held out his hand, palm up and seemingly nonthreatening. I looked at it, then at his face and cocked the gun. His expression didn’t change from patient acceptance, as if we had all the time in the world, as if we weren’t falling from the sky, as if he wasn’t the reason.

My hands shook as I put the gun in his. Loki didn’t take his eyes off me as he flung it behind him.

“Come now.”

My hands sank into his and I let myself feel total relief, deciding I would hate myself later.

Loki tugged me up and further, lifting me off my feet and over Anderson’s body. I put my head on his shoulder and felt the ease sink into my bones, no matter how wrong it was.

Loki set me down on the catwalk and smoothed my hair away from my wet cheeks.

“Better now?” His gaze was unbearably tender and I had to look away. I was saved from answering by someone thundering down the hall. Loki sighed and urged me over a few steps.

“Stay there.” And he vanished.

Thor ran into the antechamber, looked to the cell and yelled ‘NO!”

I followed his gaze and saw the door sliding open and Loki stepping out. Thor charged forward, leaping to tackle Loki, whereupon he vanished. The door slid shut behind a very confused Thor and Loki reappeared at my side.

“Will you ever not fall for that?”

Thor swung his hammer, connecting to the glass and causing a crack to spiderweb. As it hit, however, an attachment uncoupled and the cell shook.

“The humans think us immortal, brother. Shall we test this?” Loki strolled over to the control panel and flipped up the cover of the Big Red Button.

“No!” I lurched forward and grabbed Loki’s wrist.

“Why ever not, pet?” Loki sneered, but he didn’t remove my hand.

“Because he’s your brother.”

“Is that all?”

“It’s enough.”

I held his gaze, hoping to convince the both of us that even he was not this far gone. That he was not so lost that he would kill his own brother in pursuit of power

“Move away please.”

I looked over my shoulder and saw Agent Coulson toting a massive weapon aimed right at us. “Miss McDonagh, please come toward me.”

I released Loki’s wrist, but didn’t move, unsure of Loki’s intention toward the Big Red Button. He, however, seemed to be caught up in the design of Coulson’s weapon.

“Like this? We had it modelled after the Destroyer you sent. Even I don’t know what it does. Miss McDonagh.”

I looked at Loki, but he had vanished. I turned back to Coulson just in time to see Loki stab him from behind with his scepter. I could barely hear Thor’s cry over the inhuman sound I made. I ran over to Coulson, who was slumped against the wall, a trickle of blood evident at the corner of his mouth. I pressed my hands against the red spot growing on his suit.

“Miss McDonagh, you need to go now. Find Agent Hill, or Romanoff. They’ll make sure you’re safe.”

“I’m not leaving you, Coulson. And for fuck’s sake, call me Nora.” I tried for levity, but failed miserably as hot blood rushed over my fingers. I told myself not to look when I heard the trap door open and the cage being released over the open sky. 

A firm hand grasped my shoulder and tugged me away from Coulson. Loki pulled me to my feet and pushed me at a grunt who had appeared while I wasn't looking.

“Take her to the transport. I’ll follow presently.”

The grunt nodded, closing a vice grip on my arm and dragging me out the door. I struggled against him, desperate to go back, whether to Coulson, bleeding out on the ground, or to Loki, my wretched Soul, I couldn’t tell. But I felt something tightening, stretching across the distance and I was too close to breaking point to ignore it.

I fought hard against my guard, leaving bloody smears on his black outfit. He put up with it for a while, but lost his patience and slapped me. He then took advantage of my disorientation to heft me over his shoulder.

When we arrived on the deck, he took me to an unmarked jet and strapped me in. “Don’t make me cuff you, kid.”

I didn’t respond, my ears still ringing. I closed my hands on the straps to steady myself and was drawn by the fact that my hands were covered in the drying flakes of someone else’s blood.

Loki arrived shortly thereafter and the jet took off. He took the seat next to me and caught my chin in his hand. I could see the exact moment he saw the angry handprint on my face, his eyes darkening with rage. He was up and had the man who had done it by his throat before I could blink.

“No, Loki, don’t.” I struggled with my belt, rubbing more blood on myself. I stumbled forward as the man’s face turned purple, and grabbed Loki’s arm. “Please, please don’t. I can’t - I can’t watch anymore. Please don’t. Just - please.”

The cabin was eerily silent except for the sounds of a man choking to death in front of me. Loki seemed not to hear me and I tried to think of what I could do to stop him, but I was too tired, too hungry, too hysterical, to do anything other than tug on his arm and wait.

After an eternity, Loki released his grip, the man dropping to the floor and coughing severely as he tried to breathe. Loki didn’t say a word, ushering me back to my seat and strapping me in. He wrapped an arm around me and I didn’t have the energy to fight against him or myself anymore. I sank into his embrace, resigned to wait for the next catastrophe to take hold.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello friends. Fair warning, I heavily edited this chapter about an hour before posting. I believe it follows the flow, but I make no promises.
> 
> Beta'ed by my sister, who thinks I'm a dork, but reads my fanfic anyway.

We took the elevator down from the roof, Loki’s hand securely on my upper arm. We exited at the penthouse, entering an opulent apartment that screamed ‘Tony Stark’.

Loki steered my over the the ‘living room’ overlooking Midtown and nudged me onto a couch. He then proceeded to order everyone around and there was a flurry of activity that I did my best to ignore.

I couldn’t stop myself from flinching as Loki crouched in front of me, taking my hands in his own.

“You needn’t be afraid, Nora. You’re safe now.” He seemed genuinely convinced of this and I knew I had to try to make him understand. I tightened my grip on him and met his gaze with conviction.

“I need you to listen and to understand exactly what it means when I tell you that is not a comfort. I have two sisters, Loki.” At that, his eyes shuttered and he went to pull away. I clamped down on his fingers and tugged him closer.

“No, just listen. You owe me that much.”

He didn’t respond, but neither did he pull away, so I went on. 

“I have two sisters, Loki. Kat lives here in the city; she could die today. My younger sister, Meg, is only 17; she’s trying to decide what she’s going to do with her life. And yeah, maybe they would benefit from living in a different world, but this war you want, it puts them in danger. And that scares me. So even if I am safe here with you, my family is out there and in very real, very preventable danger. So, I am afraid.”

“I am sorry, Nora. But it’s too late to stop now.” Loki stood and turned away.

“I’m sorry too. You know, I don’t think it was supposed to be this way. I don’t think it was meant to be this hard.”

***

I found the bathroom through the ridiculously large master bedroom and it took me longer than I’ll admit to figure out the shower. It was one of those waterfall/rain shower ones, and the water pressure was poor.

Fucking bourgeoisie.

I turned the temperature hotter than I should have, scalding my skin, and scrubbed until I was rosy pink all over. I couldn’t remove the phantom slick of blood, though, and settled for simply removing the grime.

I hadn’t locked the door, so I wasn’t entirely surprised when I heard it open. I did feel a flash of irritation at the casual violation of my privacy, but I couldn’t think of a damned thing to say that he would understand. I kept my eyes averted from the bulk of the bathroom as I finished washing.

I was tempted to wait until the hot water had dissipated, but considering the location, I could imagine an infinite supply. Plus, one of my last memories of my father called upon me to face my demons. 

Now was a good a time as any.

Loki had retreated by the time I exited the shower and the only evidence of his being there was a perfectly round, green apple. It was set atop the towel I had laid out and I glared at it. Did Loki know of our mythology? Of a tree of knowledge and Eve’s forbidden fruit, all that came after? Was he making a joke?

I set the apple aside and towelled off. It taunted me, gleaming robustly in the lights of the vanity. My stomach growled in protest of my refusal to eat the only food I had seen in over 12 hours, but I did my best to ignore it.

I dried off to the best of my abilities and left in search of clean clothes. The walk-in closet was intimidating, but surprisingly barren of clothing I could wear. There definitely was women’s clothing, but it was comprised mostly of suits and ‘casual clothes’ that cost more than I made in a year. 

Opening some drawers, I was able to find a long band shirt and a pair of sweats I would have to roll up. I felt bad about making myself at home in someone else’s closet, but there was no way I could put my old clothes back on. And something told me that Loki hadn’t thought to grab my pack from my bunk before abandoning the falling ship.

Speak of the devil - Loki was in the bedroom when I left the closet, watching the city below us with his hands clasped behind his back. I set my bundle down on the bedside table and tucked my towel closer around my chest. I could have (should have) worn a robe, my bare feet and skin making me feel more vulnerable than before. And that was when I was watching him kill a good man in cold blood.

“Did you need something, Loki?”

“I wanted to advise you that Selvig will have the Tesseract active within the hour, and once it has opened, you shall remain inside the tower.” Loki glanced briefly over his shoulder, but seemed unconcerned with my state of undress.

“Excellent.” I waited, for more info, for him to leave, or even go into a rant about craving subjugation, but instead, Loki just stood, watching the goings on of the city.

I crossed my arms over my chest, contemplating the few options I had open to me. Would he listen if I asked him to leave?

Before I could decide, Loki spoke, keeping his back to me in favour of the bustling city scape.

“It is curious, is it not, that this city breathes on, unaware that their day of reckoning has arrived? Each individual speck pursuant of their own unattainable dream, unknowing that the world they awoke in shall be unequivocally changed by the time night falls. There is comfort, I suppose, in that sort of ignorance.”

I joined Loki at the window, curious as to what had brought on this maudlin speech.

New York was exactly as I remembered it, though I had never seen the city from this vantage point. Central Park was sprawling to our right, the Hudson River just visible between the skyscrapers. The Empire State Building was close on the left, and I took a moment to marvel at the sheer wealth Stark must have to have bought this view.

“I am sorry about your family, Nora. I understand that you are concerned. Were it possible, I would have them here with us, protected.”

A short huff escaped me at the assumption that being here at HQ would equate to protection. Loki ignored me, valiantly carrying on.

“Alas, there is no time to secure your kin. I promise you, once the battle is over, I will send out envoys to collect them.”

“That’s not -” My mind raced for some way to convey the inadequacy of his assurances, but came up totally blank. If he didn’t get it now, there was nothing I could say to convince him. “Never mind.”

Loki turned to me, the lines of his body tense. He inhaled sharply, held it for a moment, and blew it out slowly. He adopted a sympathetic expression and, when it spoke, it reminded me of someone speaking to a small child.

“I will confess, I do not understand your reticence. You have expressed concern for your family, I have supplied you with the knowledge that they will have a place in our new world, and still you are not satisfied. Pray tell, what assurances may I offer that will ease your mind?”

“You want me to be satisfied? With what? The idea that if Kat lives through the day, you’ll send some thugs to bring her back here? That we’ll have a place in YOUR new world?” I laughed without humour, clutching my towel, my only shield, closer to myself.

“Please enlighten me, Loki, as to what that new world will look like. After you have brought New York to its knees, what’s next? From what I’ve heard, you have some pretty grandiose ideas, but nothing to back it up. What’s your great plan?”

The placating smile dropped of his lips and became sinuous, indulgent. Loki smiled as he took a step toward me, lessening the already small space between us.

“All in good time, my dear. If you must have something to cling to in the coming days, remember this: when I am king of this wretched world, you will be my queen. Save myself, no one shall have power equal to yours.”

Loki smiled again, as if imagining this great future. Before I could see what he was doing, he had taken left wrist in his, pulling my Mark up to eye level. He traced the Words as he went on.

“Your sphere of influence will cross continents and touch every soul on Earth. I will, of course, counsel and temper you, but you will have the power to damn or to save. The people will revere you as the benevolent and vengeful goddess that you are.”

Loki lifted my arm and laid a kiss against the trunk of my Mark. His lips were icy and spawned a chill, racing through my veins and taking root in my heart. I wrenched my arm out of his grasp, his fingers tightening slightly before relinquishing me.

I took several steps back, needing distance between us as goosebumps rose along my skin.

Loki remained smiling, decidedly untroubled by my rejection. He shrugged and made for the door.

“Take heart, sweet Nora.” He called over his shoulder. “Today, we herald in a new age!”

I stood there for several minutes after he left, just shivering. My wrist felt strange where he had kissed, so cold it burned. I held it close to my heart and mentally shook off the past few minutes.

First step: get dressed.

I was careful to turn the lock, once I had retreated to the bathroom, mindful of how flimsy boundaries seemed to Loki and his ilk.

I dragged my hands through my damp hair, attempting to get it into some sort of order, but it would inevitably be a lost cause. I tied it into a quick braid and dressed, stifling a laugh at how ridiculous I appeared - a child playing dress up. The AC/DC shirt was similar to a burlap sack on me and the yoga pants covered me to my toes.

I made the necessary adjustments and avoided looking at my reflection. As I was about to leave, my eye caught on the apple, sitting prettily where I had left it. As innocuous as it appeared, I knew that it would cross one of the few lines left before me.

Or maybe it was just an apple.

The flavour burst sweet and sharp on my tongue as I took the first bite. It wasn’t bitter or sour; it tasted like Spring, like a promise.

I threw it in the trash and went to join my Soul at the world’s reckoning.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I used the word 'impatience' WAAAY too many times. What can you do?
> 
> Beta'd by my beloved endlesstuesday.
> 
> I do not own any characters depicted in this work.

If we weren’t having a silent contest, I would have asked Loki where the mercenaries had disappeared to. As it was, I was left to imagine all sorts of nefarious activities - kicking dogs, stealing candy from little kids, knocking down old folks.

Loki paced. I pulled on a loose thread and waited for him to settle, but he paced back and forth right behind my couch, exuding quiet menace and childish impatience.

After 20 minutes of ignoring Loki as he muttered impatiently, I lost a bit of composure.

“Oh my god, stop.” I twisted around and fixed Loki with my best ‘quit fucking around’ glare, which was admittedly out of practice since Abby had stopped setting those fires.

Loki froze, mid-step, and looked over his shoulder at me, a ‘who me?’ look pulling on his eyebrows.

“Either sit down, stand still, or-” I turned back to the window and gestured wildly at the pretentious deck suspended over the city, “-go outside.”

Loki turned, his hands clasped behind his back. He stared for a moment, eyes narrowed, and opened his mouth, surely prepared to launch into an imperious speech. But I guess my stare wasn’t too shabby, because his jaw snapped closed and he stomped to the balcony without a backward glance.

Good riddance.

Now somewhat alone, I began searching for something. Mostly food, but I wouldn’t ignore an escape hatch or knockout gas.

I walked over to the bar (because, of course, there was no kitchen) and, among the zillion dollars of booze, found a little safe, tucked in behind the sink. It involved fingerprint scanning to open, so I moved on quickly, but filed it for later.

After twenty five more drawers and cabinets (all filled with liquor), I finally found some pretzels. I stifled a triumphant squeal as I hugged the bag to my chest and sprung up from behind the bar.

Good thing, too, because Tony Stark was letting himself in from yet another balcony.

“Please tell me you’re going to appeal to my humanity.”

I looked over to the other side of the room, where Loki had soundlessly entered the penthouse. The fresh air must have done him good, because he had dropped the impatience and assumed a careless, triumphant persona. He sauntered across the stone floor, each movement unhurried and an indulgent smile playing on his face. It was a good charade.

“No, I was going to threaten you, actually.”

“Should have left your armor on for that.”

“Yeah. Seen a bit of mileage and you’ve got the - uh-” Stark waved vaguely at Loki’s spear as he descended the stairs, “- glow stick of destiny. Would you like a drink?”

Tony joined me behind the bar, sliding up next to me and my pretzels to reach for a square glass bottle of brown liquid.

Loki’s easy manner back slid as he took in the proximity of Stark and I, fingers tightening minutely of the spear. I’m sure he would have preferred me to be away from any rescue/harm, but it would jeopardize his perceived position of power to ask.

“Stalling me won’t change anything.”

“Not stalling - threatening. I’m gonna have one. You, too, kid?” Stark turned to me for the first time - actually, it was the first time he had really addressed me at all. He looked a bit banged up, harried and bruised. But remarkably calm.

Maybe we would make it out of this after all.

“Yes, please.”

I opened the pretzels and set them on the counter, digging out a couple to munch on.

“The Chitauri are coming. Nothing will change that. What have I to fear?”

I glanced briefly to Loki, who had turned away from us and was looking out at the city.

 

“The Avengers. Scotch?” Stark wiggled the bottle in my direction.

“Lots.”

Tony poured two generous glasses of scotch and pushed one down the bar to me. As he pulled his hand back, his fingers skimmed over the safe, which opened with a faint click. Stark disguised the sound by setting his glass down heavily on the bar.

I took a sip of my drink, which burned all the way down to belly, and watched to see what he would do. There wasn’t much in the safe: only a few passports, a phone and a gun. I expected Stark to reach for the gun, but instead he grabbed the phone.

Within moments, a keyboard appeared.

(you ok?)

Nothing happened, so it took me a moment to realize the message was for me.

I took another sip, and attempted to shrug discreetly, my eyes darting quickly to Loki. I knew that I looked a mess, god only knows what Stark must be thinking.

“Anyway, the Avengers. It’s what we call ourselves. Earth’s mightiest heroes type deal.”

(hang tight. it’s gonna be ok.)

I rolled my eyes and drank more.

Sure.

Stark put down the phone, using it to keep the safe propped open.

“Yes, I’ve met them.” Loki scoffed, turning back to us. I stepped away from Stark, helping myself to more pretzels and trying to look like nothing was happening.

Stark grimaced and then smiled tightly, frustration and something darker simmering just below the surface.

“Yeah, granted, it takes us a while to get any traction, I’ll give you that. But let’s do a hand count here: your brother, the demi-god.” 

Loki tensed, releasing an hiss of breath. I was pointedly no longer looking at Stark, but I saw him reach for something in my periphery. Bracelets?

Stark carried on speaking as he did whatever he was doing behind the bar. “Super soldier, a living legend who kind of lives up to the legend; a man with breathtaking anger management issues; a couple of master assassins.”

Mission accomplished, Stark took another sip of his glass and left it on the bar as he approached Loki. 

“And you! You, big fella, have managed to piss off every single one of them.” Stark sounded surprised, incredulous even, as he advanced on Loki, totally unarmed save for whatever little bracelets he was now wearing.

“That was the plan.” Loki seemed to welcome Stark’s approach, relishing the outburst.

“Not a very good plan. When they come, and they will, they’re coming for you.”

“I have an army.” Loki reminded.

“We have a Hulk.”

“Oh, I thought the beast had wandered off.” Loki feigned concern and I felt had a rush of concern for poor Dr Banner. I had purposefully not thought of any left behind on the SHIELD aircraft, selfishly choosing to focus on my own problems. Had Thor survived his plummet to the ground? What about Natasha? Would she make it back to her Soul?

“That’s not the point. There’s no throne. There’s no version of this where you come out on top. Maybe you’re army comes, and maybe it’s too much for us, but it’s all on you. Cause if we can’t protect the Earth, you can be damn sure we’re going to avenge it.”

Loki considered Stark as he came to a stop in front of him. He raised his spear and, with none of the trepidation of a guy about to get stabbed, Stark stayed completely still.

“How will your friends have time for me, when they’re so busy fighting you?” As he spoke, Loki moved the spear slowly, tauntingly, aiming directly for Stark's heart. 

I dropped the pretzels, pushing myself out from behind the bar. There wasn't much I could do to save Stark, but maybe I could staunch the bleeding long enough to get some kind of help.

I was brought up short, however, when instead of the slick ooze of skin being torn, there was a clinking noise, like metal on metal. I stopped, halfway between the two men and the bar, and watched as Loki's haughty look dissolved into confusion.

“This usually works.” Loki said as the clinking sound resonated through the room a few more times.

Stark, of course, had something to say about that.

“Well, performance issues - it’s not uncommon. One out of five -”

With a snarl, Loki backhanded Stark, who hit the floor and slid a few feet closer to the window. He shook off the blow and pushed up to his knees as Loki stalked forward. Loki picked him up by his throat and held him a foot off the ground.

“You will all fall before me!" Loki hissed in Stark’s face before throwing him backwards, straight through the window.

I ran to the window, but Loki stopped me with an arm across my chest. I struggled to get away, his touch making my skin crawl after watching him kill another person. I got my wish, Loki flinging me back, and I hit the floor with enough force to knock the breath from my lungs

I caught my breath, ready to spring up again, but a noise over my shoulder stopped me. I looked back just in time to see a red and gold blur come out of the wall and zip out after Stark.

I scrambled further back, hoping futilely that Stark had some kind of rescue mechanism for falling out of buildings.

Loki stepped closer to the window and almost blocked my view of Iron Man raising into the shattered window frame.

“And there’s one other person you pissed off. His name was Phil.”

Stark lifted his arm and a bolt of energy came out of his palm, hitting Loki right in the chest and sending him flying.

 

“Stay safe, kid. Help’s on the way.” Stark threw over his shoulder at me before jetting off.

Following shortly after him, were aliens on ski-doos soaring down to the city.

Awesome.

Loki groaned, rolling onto his side and shaking off Stark’s blast. He pushed to his feet and made for the balcony again.

“Stay inside, Nora.”

“Loki-”

“Silence! I cannot account for your safety on the battlefield!” Loki spun back to me, cold rage in his eyes. “You will remain in this tower, or I shall have to force your compliance.”

He waited to see if I would protest, but my voice locked in my throat. Satisfied by my compliance, he leaped up the stairs and went out onto the balcony Stark had entered from.

As soon as the glass door (miraculously unbroken) slid closed behind him, I jumped up, heading for the bar. Crunching pretzels underfoot, I skidded to a stop in front of the safe. I was just about to grab the phone when a disembodied voice nearly gave me a heart attack.

“Miss, I am JARVIS. Sir wished me to offer you my assistance.”

“Good god!” Heart pounding, I looked around the room. But there was no one in sight.

“Miss, I am an artificial intelligence system, hardwired into the entire building.”

A breathless laugh escaped my lips. “Oh, good. Excellent.”

A.I’s, aliens, superheroes - next up: time travel, hopefully, so I could go back to that night on the bus - two days ago? three? - and tell SHIELD where they could shove it.


	9. Chapter 9

So, there I was, stuck at ground zero for an alien invasion, armed with only an A.I, a bag of pretzels and a gun, which I may or may not be able to use.

Peachy.

“Miss, Sir would like me to advise you that, although you may like to abandon Reindeer Games, the Tower is likely the safest place to weather the storm.”

“I’m sorry - ‘Reindeer Games’?”

“Sir’s colloquial term for Loki.”

I snorted, brushing crushed pretzel bits off my feet.

“Course it is. 

"Miss, I would like to suggest taking the gun from the safe to your right. It seems that defensive measures may be necessary."

I ducked my head, my gaze hitching on the gun left in the safe. I hesitated, considering how well that turned out last time.

I looked out the window - big mistake. Thor had appeared on the balcony outside, and he and Loki were shouting at each other, their voices drowned out by the ambient sound of Iron Man fighting an alien army.

"No shit. Can you give me a quick step by step, Jarv?”

“Certainly, miss. Start by taking the gun into your dominant hand, keeping your fingers outside the trigger guard. It should rest against the webbing between your thumb and forefinger.”

“Ok…” I picked up the weapon, mindful to keep it pointed well away from my foot.

I chanced a glanced up and saw a SHIELD fighter jet hovering behind Loki and Thor, who had given up shouting and were now trying to beat each other to death.

“Next, you want to release the clip, ensuring that the gun is, indeed, loaded.”

The jet fired at the two demigods, missing and taking a fair chunk out of the building.

“Got it.”

“Now, curl your middle finger, ring finger and pinky around the grip. Tighten your grip, using your middle and ring fingers, until your hand starts to shake from the effort. Your pinky and thumb are not gripping, merely steadying the weapon.”

The missed shots seemed to refocus Loki and he used the spear shove Thor to the side and shot a blast at the jet, knocking it out of the sky.

“Perf,” I didn’t bother to tell him that the hand shaking was not a problem.

The jet had disappeared in a plume of smoke - hopefully the pilot was able to set it down safely. 

“Bring your non-dominant hand to cradle your grip hand. Your thumbs should align, pointing at the target. Are you comfortable with the position, miss?”

“Define ‘comfortable’.” I muttered, bring my left hand up to stabilize the gun.

“Would you like the Oxford definition or Merriam-Websters?”

I laughed. “Nevermind, JARVIS. Now what?”

“Widen your stance, leading with your nondominant foot. To load the chamber, use your left hand to pull the barrel towards you.”

It took a lot of effort to pull the slider back, but the click as it snapped back was satisfying.

“The next step is aiming and, although I could go into the minutiae, Sir’s advice is ‘point at the bad guys and hope for the best’.”

“Of course it is. Anything else?

“Don’t forget to remove the safety.”

“Will do. Thanks, JARVIS.”

“My pleasure, miss. Good luck.”

I shuffled closer, leading with my left foot like JARVIS had said. Hopefully no one was watching the surveillance video, though I was past being embarrassed at this point. 

It was stupid to get too close to a shattered window, 30 stories high and in the middle of a war zone. But my view of the battle was limited and, ridiculous though it may be, I needed to see what was going on.

Thor and Loki were still going at it, now fighting close quarters. It was hard to tell who had the upper hand as they grappled with Thor’s hammer.

“Look at what you have done!” Thor shouted, loud enough to cross the gap to me. “Look at the chaos you have unleashed! Do you think it will end with your reign?”

“It’s too late.” The words were spoken softly, too quiet for me to hear. But they crossed the tenuous connection that bound our souls, whispered into the back of my mind, vibrating with emotion.

However Thor responded was lost in the abyss, but his body relaxed slightly, hope flooding him.

It was all Loki needed to land a powerful blow to his abdomen.

As Thor was thrown back, I saw a glint of metal in Loki’s hand, coated with blood, and all I could see was the shiny tip of the spear piercing Coulson’s chest. I could hear the gurgling as his lungs filled with blood, smell the rust and iron in the air.

Coulson was dead. But maybe no one else had to suffer.

I braced feet apart, sinking into what I hoped was a firm stance. My arms were shaking as I lifted them, gun in hand, aiming at my lost Soul.

Maybe it wouldn’t work. The Asgardians were obviously made of hardy stuff and maybe this wouldn’t even slow him down. Hell, maybe it wouldn’t even hit him. Maybe he would just get mad and kill both of us.

Maybe.

Loki was stalking towards Thor, who was working to push himself up. The spear was raised, gathering a blue cloud around the tip, pointed to Thor.

Now or never.

I almost dropped the thing when the kickback reverberated up my arm.

The bullet pinged harmlessly off Loki’s hand, but it shocked him enough to drop the scepter, turning him to face me with a look of outraged surprise.

We locked eyes and I felt a fire inside of me, tempering my bones and sinews to steel. I pulled myself to my full height, trying to tell him with my whole self - ‘This is where we stand. This is how it will be.’

With our eyes still locked together, I reloaded the gun and pulled it up to aim at him again.

He smiled, a parody of the smirk he had worn in his cell, and lifted his hands - surrendering? I kept the gun trained on him as he stepped back, once, twice, and then - right off the balcony.

My heart lurched, then beat double time until I saw him on the back of a alien ski doo, soaring down to join the fighting.

Thor heaved himself up, turning to face me.

“Are you well, my lady?” He called across the gap.

I laughed a little bitterly.

“Well enough. You?”

“A flesh wound.” He looked over the city, solemnity stealing over his features. “I must provide aid to these people. Do you have need of me?”

“Nah. Go kick some off-world ass.”

“I shall try.” His lip quirked up as he spun his hammer above his head and… fucking took off into the sky like a kite.

How is this my life?


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise update! To make up for barely posting for two months, I am posting the last two chapters this weekend. Huzzah! Check back tomorrow for the last chapter.

“JARVIS, I need to call someone.”

My whole arm was still shaking from the kickback, so I put the safety back on and loosened my grip, letting some feeling back into my fingers.

“How may I direct your call?”

"Can I talk to Katherine McDonagh, it's a local number..." God, what was it? I had it in my phone, which I hadn't seen in ages. Who memorizes phone numbers these days?

"Is it, perhaps, Katherine McDonagh of the West Side?"

"Uh, yeah." Do I want to know how he got that?

"Give me a moment to put you through." A gentle ringing sound filled the apartment.

"Sure. " 

I left the main room, retreating to where I had left my shoes. Seemed like they might come in handy, what with the shattered windows and pretzel crumbs. The ringing followed me into the bathroom, where I set the gun on the vanity and slipped back into my sneakers.

"Hello?"

A rush of cold relief flooded my system at the sound of Kat's voice. I turned away from the gun, from the battle, and focused on my sister.

"Kat, are you ok?"

"Nora?!?! What the hell, girl, I thought you were camping? Whose phone is this? What happened to your phone? Did it get eaten by a bear?" She giggled, the sound of her unhurried laughter echoing through the bathroom.

"I'll tell you later. Where are you?"

"Oh my god, are you in the city? You should have told me you were coming early! I'm in Brooklyn, Mimi and I are looking at a place. Manhattan is hell on our wallets, you know? You should come out here! We're gonna have brunch next - there's this cute little place around here that this guy that Mimi -"

I cut her off, not caring to hear about the last guy Kat's roommate, Mimi, had banged.

"Kat, I need you to listen very closely. Just listen."

"Nora, what's going on? Is Abby ok?" The laughter drained out of Kat's voice, concern starting to fill the cracks.

"I don't know. I think so. This isn't about that."

I took a deep breath,

"Shit is happening in Manhattan, Kat, 9/11 type shit. You need to stay as far away from it as you can. Hell, take Mimi and get out of New York. Do you understand?"

"No, Nora, what the hell are you talking about? What is going on - where are you?"

"I can't talk now, Kat. I'll call you when I've figured out what I'm gonna do. I love you, ok? If you don't hear from me, go to Toronto and take care of Abby. I don't know what's gonna happen, but you need to take care of her, ok?"

"Nora, what are you talking about? Where are you? I'm coming to pick you up right now and we can-"

"JARVIS, end the call."

Kat's voice was cut off mid sentence, my last life line, and the silence in her wake was horrible, punctuated by faint screams and gunfire.

I felt the weight of my actions attempting to suffocate me and shook them off. Now was not the time to freak out.

It was time for a to do list.

Get Loki’s scepter from outside   
Don’t get shot  
Hide aforementioned scepter  
Help… somehow

Oh well, I could work on the last one.

Somewhat fortified, I picked up the gun and marched to the balcony door, pausing momentarily to make sure I wouldn’t get blown up the moment I stepped out. The scepter was still laying on the deck where Loki had dropped it and although the fighting was still going on, it didn’t seem concentrated on the Tower.

I sucked in a breath, holding onto composure with bloody fingernails. The sounds of the city burning were more intense on the balcony, grating my nerves as I shuffled closer to the scepter. My hands were starting to cramp from how tightly I was holding the gun, but it was the only way to stop the shaking from getting too bad.

I was half a foot from it when a voice called out and I almost shot myself in the leg.

“Hey!”

I spun around, tracking the voice up to the roof.

“Dr. Selvig?”

He was hanging off the side of the building, looking a little worse for the wear. A rivulet of blood running down the side of his face, but his eyes had lost the wild euphoria I had seen in the elevator.

“I don’t know who you are, but if you have any interest in stopping this apocolypse, I need you to bring me that scepter.” His voice was hoarse and weak over the ambient battle sounds.

“What?”

“You can’t protect against yourself. The Tesseract energy in impassable, but I built in a fail safe.”

“The scepter?”

“Bring it to me!” He shouted and then disappeared back over the wall.

Fuck.

Well, I guess this takes care of the last item on my list.

I reengaged the safety on the gun and stuck it in my waistband like they did in cop movies. The scepter was heavy and deceptively warm, humming faintly as I picked it up.

“Hey JARVIS?” I called out as I got back inside.

“Yes, Miss?”

“Can we get me to the roof?”

“Certainly, Miss, although I would advise against it.”

I would too, but fate of the world and all that.

“Your advice is noted.”

“Of course. Proceed to the elevator and I will enable the lift.”

“Thanks.”

“Of course.”

I felt a little silly, waiting for the elevator in the middle of all this. I wondered if there would be any muzak.

Glass shattered behind me and I shrieked, spinning around. What once was the living room now had a Hulk and Loki sized crater front and center. Loki rolled away and leaped up, ready to engage the Hulk.

I frantically jammed the call button, hoping to god that Loki was distracted enough to let me slip away.

“Enough! You are all of you, beneath me. I am a god, you dull creature and I will not be bullied -”

The elevator doors opened and I threw myself in, turning around in time to see the Hulk grab hold of Loki and begin smashing him into the ground.

I closed my eyes and the doors closed, whisking me to the roof. My traitorous heart spared a thought for Loki, but we had bigger fish to fry.

The elevator stopped and opened onto a concrete stairwell.

“Proceed up the stairs and through the first door.”

“Thanks, JARVIS.”

“My pleasure, Miss. Please let me know if I can be any more assistance.”

“Will do.” With scepter in hand, I ran up the short flight of stairs and burst onto the roof. I was surprised, to say the least, to find Natasha on the roof.

“How did you get up here?” My brain short-circuited and stuck on the improbability of teleportation.

“Caught a lift. Where’d you get that?” She nodded to the scepter I was holding like a shield between us.

“Oh, you know, finder’s keepers.” I shrugged and held it out to her. “Heard it could maybe close the portal.”

“Really?” Natasha looked at Selvig, who was working at pulling a control panel back upright. I went over, helping to get it standing beside the Tesseract and portal.

“We can use the scepter to pierce the force field surrounding the Tesseract. Once we connect the two, the portal should short out and close.” Selvig didn’t bother to look up as he spoke, reconnecting wires and staring at the images called up on screen.

“Should?” I couldn’t help but ask, noting the less than bulletproof reasoning.

“Hey, what have we got to lose?” Natasha smirked, though it looked a little tired, and swung the scepter with exaggerated flourish.

I watched as she approached the energy field, pointy end first.

“Right at the crown.” Selvig directed, looking up from his readings.

Natasha pushed the point forward, leaning a considerable amount of weight to keep it steady.

“I can close it. Does anyone copy? I can close the portal.” Natasha waited for a response on what I hoped was a radio to the rest of her team.

She was silent for a long moment and I couldn’t take it.

“What are you waiting for? Close it.” I bit out, wrapping my arms tightly around my waist.

“There’s a nuke on it’s way to Midtown. Stark’s trying to redirect it through the portal.”

Almost as soon as she spoke, Stark flew past us, scraping along the side of the building. We all watched as he flew higher and higher, before disappearing entirely through the portal.

“Come on, Stark.” Natasha said through gritted teeth. I spared her a glance and saw the tension in her body, the sweat beading off her face.

I don’t know how much longer she could have held it.

And suddenly, she lunged forward, forcing the tip of the scepter to connect with the Tesseract and the whole thing groaned to a halt.

Silence fell over the city as the alien invaders all fell as one, puppets with their strings cut. For no reason, the giant flying whales dropped from the sky, hopefully taking soldiers with them.

But no Stark.

Until the very last moment, and he fell through, the portal sucking closed behind him.

But then he kept falling, further and further, without attempting the control his flight. I ran to the edge, helplessly watching him get closer and closer to the ground. He would have been a splatter on the New York skyline if the Hulk hadn’t jumped off a building and caught him mid-fall, ferrying him not-so-gently to the ground.

An eerie quiet fell on the city as we collectively held our breath for the next disaster. When nothing came, I let some of the tension drain from my shoulders.

“So, did we win?”


	11. Chapter 11

We won.

Not five minutes after Natasha closed the portal, commandos, armed to the teeth, flooded the city. National Guard, SHIELD, local law enforcement, they all showed up just in time to do absolutely nothing.

It took a while to get Dr. Selvig off the roof, but we were able to coax him into the impersonal arms of paramedics. Natasha unloaded me onto them as well, keeping a firm hold on the scepter as she assured me that she would check on the status of things and report back.

I didn’t see her again.

Thor found me in a SHIELD medical center, where a team of doctors had convinced me that the fastest way to replenish my system and rehydrate me was to stick me with an IV drip. They had used a lot of medical jargon and, since my ability to coherently follow a conversation was severely diminished, I soon found myself with a needle jabbed in my elbow.

I was reclining on a plush chair, blanket tucked around my legs, with a fashion magazine a friendly nurse had given me propped open on my lap. It had been on the some page for nearly an hour, something about wedge sandals making a comeback, when a tentative knock rang through the silence.

"Come in.” I called to whatever poor soul had been sent to check on me. Hopefully it was the friendly nurse.

However, when the door swung open, it was not to reveal any of the medical staff, who treated me with mixed pity and fear. The tentative knock had been issued by the massive hands of a hesitant looking thunder god.

“I am sorry to interrupt, my lady. May I speak with you?”

I couldn't keep from gaping a little before snapping my mouth closed and beckoning him out of the doorway.

“Sure. Come in.”

Seating was scarce in my little hospital room. Thor perched on the bed, sans cape, but still impressive in his 'resting warrior' get up.

“We have not had the chance to be properly introduced. I am Thor, son of Odin and Frigga, of Asgard.” He didn't offer his arm, instead pressing his right fist over his heart.

“I'm, uh, Nora, daughter of Brian and Marie, of Toronto.”

“It is my pleasure to meet you, Nora. I only wish it had been other different circumstances.”

I didn't bother to ask what other circumstances we ever would have met under, what with him being from another realm.

Semantics.

“I see that you are healing and I do not wish to make a nuisance of myself. I came here with two desires: The first was simply to make myself known to you. In Asgard, you would be my SoulSister. I will understand if you wish to distance yourself from us, but it is of no small consequence to me, to have this bond. I do not know how frequently I shall be on this world, but should you ever require me, I shall heed your call.”

Despite my best intentions, tears welled up in my eyes. I managed to choke out a couple words around the massive lump forming in my throat.

“Thank you. That actually means a lot to me right now. Thank you.”

Thor didn’t comment as I got myself back under control.

“You said there were two things. What's the second thing?”

“I will leave today and deliver Loki to justice. I place no onus upon you, my lady, you may reject this offer and find no ill will.”

“What's your offer?”

“I would take you to see Loki, if you wish. To say goodbye.”

***

He was bound when I entered the cell, legs shackled and arms held in a giant metal muff. It was so unlike when I had walked into the detention centre on the heli-carrier and met a brash and arrogant man. Now, even as he tried to affect aloofness, I read the defeat in his shoulders.

“I shouldn't have come.”

“And yet here we are.” Sarcasm dripped from his words, but did nothing to disguise the resignation.

“I'm not sorry I shot you.” I offered.

“You should not be, it was an excellent shot. I did not think you had it in you.”

“There's a lot you don't know about me.”

“And now I never shall.” Loki sounded almost mournful.

I crossed my arms to keep from fidgeting.

“I have no idea what to say.” I admitted after a long awkward silence.

“Then perhaps you should say nothing at all.”

“So we say nothing, pretend nothing happened? You go back to Asgard to face the music and we never see each other again and you just want me to forget?” My fingernails bit into the soft underside of my arms as I tried to keep my voice under control. How could he be so cool, so clinic as our whole future, his dreams and mine, disintegrated around us?

“What other outcome did you foresee, child? My plans have crumbled to ash, and with them, our destiny. If I am not executed for treason, I will surely be imprisoned for all eternity for attempting to bring order to your chaotic world. Justice will be served, it will no doubt please you.” He seethed, leaning back in his chains.

“Please me? Because I've spent my whole life dreaming of this day, that my Soul would try to subjugate humanity and get life in prison for his troubles.” I scoffed.

“It may not be the outcome of your fantasies, Nora, but you will have to content yourself with it.”

After a beat, Loki leaned forward, a new light in his eye. “Unless you think there can be a happy end after all. Do you think you can save me?”

I closed my eyes for a beat, considering his question. When I opened them, he was watching me, the manic light faded, something akin to fascination taking its place.

“Do you even want to be saved?”

Whatever Loki had meant to say next was lost in feedback from an unseen speaker.

“Miss McDonagh, please step away from the prisoner and prepare yourself for extraction.”

I turned to face the one way mirror and nodded. Whatever Thor had done to distract the guards had clearly run its course.

“Just one minute.”

The only response I got was weighted silence, so I assumed I had about sixty seconds left.

But what could one say at the end of such a tragic story?

“I'll remember you.”

My tremulous voice broke the suffocating silence, surprising us both.

At this, Loki softened. It was hard to catch, but I was teaching myself his cues - pointlessly, of course.

“It's better this way.”

I shrugged, biting down on my lip to keep it from wobbling.

“I know. I'll still remember.”

“Fare thee well, Nora McDonagh.”

“Goodbye, Loki.”

***

Kat was waiting for me in the lobby of SHIELD's New York office. Her hair was back to blonde, cut into short, sleek bob. I watched her for a moment from the elevator bank as she flirted outrageously with the receptionist, a dark skinned woman in a suit.

With that sixth sense she only employed sporadically, Kat stopped chatting the receptionist up and turned around, a massive smile encompassing her face when she saw me.

“Nora!” Kat shrieked, throwing her arms open and galloping across the lobby. I dropped my, now dirty and worn, red knapsack on the ground and opened my arms as well. Her limbs wound around me with a strength that belied her spindly frame.

I let myself sag into her body, feeling all the events of the last three days catch up with me. I felt a hundred years older and none the wiser for it.

“Jesus fucking Christ, kid, what the fuck happened to you? What the fuck happened to New York? Did you see the explosions and shit out there?”

Kat kept a firm grip on my elbows as she pulled back, her eyes flitting over the bumps and bruises on my skin. Her eyes softened and her grip gentled.

“What happened to you, Nor?”

I could have told her about Coulson stalking me on a bus in Virginia; drooling in front of Captain America; barfing in the middle of the woods in Germany; that a mythological character now considered me family. I could have told her I had gotten lost in the eyes of my Soul, been bewitched by pretty words and a silver tongue. And that her voice had helped me find my way back.

“Oh, you know - just averting the apocalypse. Same old, same old.”

Her eyebrows pinched together and I could feel the questions bubbling in her throat. I stopped her with a smile, picking up my bag and gently leading her out into the sun.

“I’ll tell you all about it over lunch. Have you ever had shawarma?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's all she wrote! Thank you SO MUCH to all you kudo-ers, commenters and bookmarkers! You are the coolest cats this side of Yggdrasil. 
> 
> And special thanks to my beloved beta, endlesstuesday. I might have been able to do it without her, but why would I ever want to?
> 
> I do intend to post more in this series, but probs not for a little bit. My capacity for bittersweet heartbreak is quite overtaxed.
> 
> Take care, my lovelies!


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